All In The Cards
by Rae D. Magdon
Summary: A/O. A triptych from the Magnetic Resistance universe. Getting drunk on poker night gives six L&O ladies some deep insights, Alex makes a surprising suggestion from across the bridge table, and Olivia decides that losing a hand can be advantageous...
1. Texas Hold 'Em

**Pairing:** Alex/Olivia

**Spoilers:** Season 11 of Law and Order: SVU, and basically all 20 seasons of the original L&O

******AN:** A triptych of events that takes place in the **Magnetic Resistance** universe, although you don't have to read that one first.

* * *

...

**Texas Hold 'Em:**

...

"Do you ever think we're crazy for hanging out with four lesbians?" Casey asked, nudging Connie's shoulder to draw her attention away from the climbing digital numbers of the elevator.

Ever so slowly, Connie turned her head and gave the redhead her most seductive smirk. "Why, do you think it's contagious?"

Casey quickly backpedaled. "I never said that. It's just..."

"That all four of them are constantly radiating sex pheromones and go at it like energizer bunnies while we just kind of watch in awe?"

"... I was going to put it a little more gently, but yeah. It's like a train wreck. You can't look away."

The elevator stopped, the chime sounding over Connie's sudden laughter. "I'll be sure to tell Alex that you think she looks like a train wreck, Case. I know she'll love that."

"That's not what I meant," Casey growled, stepping out of the elevator as soon as the door was open. She was slightly claustrophobic and barely tolerated the damn things. "I've taken on bigger and badder punks than you, Rubirosa. Tell Alex and you're a dead woman."

Since Alex and Olivia resided in the penthouse, it was just a short walk down the hall for the two women. When they paused at the door, Connie gave Casey a pointed look. "You mean _you're_ a dead woman."

Before they could ring the bell, the door opened to reveal a beautiful dimpled face, sleek dark hair, and blinding white teeth. "Howdy, ladies," Abbie Carmichael purred, looking both women up and down. "What took you two so long? Lover's quarrel, or were you making out in the elevator?"

Casey snorted. "I'm only an honorary lesbian, remember? You know, actually being able to throw a baseball without breaking a nail? Owning a cat?"

"You keep telling yourself that, butch." With a devious smirk, Abbie turned to call over her shoulder. "Alex! Olivia! Put away the strap-on and come greet your guests! Lord, were you two raised in a barn?"

Casey blushed, but Connie started laughing. "If I didn't know you were like this all the time, I'd guess you were drunk, Miss Carmichael. And Casey isn't butch, not compared with Miss I-Wear-A-Gun-And-A-Sexy-Leather-Jacket Benson."

"You're right, Casey's not butch, she just has terrible taste in clothes and a strange affinity for sports," came the low, honeyed voice of Alex Cabot as she came out of the bedroom wearing a tight blue sweater, a suspicious red mark on her neck, and a smile. She examined the three women standing in the doorway over the frames of her glasses. "Liv isn't butch either, not always. I've seen her in a cocktail dress and lingerie."

"And I've seen her in nothing," Abbie quipped.

"Once, Carmichael, once. Now shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

"See?" Connie stage-whispered in Casey's ear, making sure that her voice was loud enough for Abbie and Alex to hear, "I told you they all go at it like energizer bunnies! It's incestuous."

"In your dreams, Rubirosa. You know I only invite you straight gals here so you can hand over your money to me." All four of them laughed, mostly because Abbie was notoriously bad at playing cards, even if she was an excellent lawyer and even more excellent company. Usually, Alex and Connie cleaned house, although Olivia had surprised them a time or two by creaming all five of them.

Alex raised one blonde eyebrow. "Invite them here?" she asked, hands on her hips. "Whose apartment is this?"

Abbie shrugged. "As often as I've had sex with Serena in the master bedroom, it might as well be my apartment."

"Some best friend you are. I give you and your girlfriend the master bedroom out of the goodness of my heart, and you defile it while Liv and I are camping in the guest room."

Abbie pretended to look offended. "Hey, I change the sheets, I do have some manners. Besides, if you and Olivia haven't already defiled that room, nobody can."

Casey groaned and grabbed Connie's wrist, dragging her past the two barbing attorneys and into the front room. "Let's leave Statler and Waldorf to their not-very-amusing commentary. I need some alcohol if I'm going to lose money and listen to a bunch of lesbians talk explicitly about their sex lives."

"You attorneys all talk too much," Olivia complained, wandering out of the same door as Alex. Like her girlfriend, she also had a suspicious red mark on her neck, but she did not seem to notice or care.

"That's why we don't play scrabble, _mon amie,_" Alex cooed, cradling Olivia's face in her hands and giving her a soft, almost chaste kiss. "You'd lose every time."

"Hey, I beat you once! Remember?"

"I bet they were playing strip scrabble," Abbie couldn't help throwing in.

Alex laughed. "That wouldn't work, Carmichael. We'd end up with Olivia completely naked and me still in my power suit." Blue eyes glazed over as the attorney considered that idea. "Actually, that doesn't sound so bad..."

"Abbie, what's taking you so long?" an impatient Serena called from the direction of Alex's kitchen.

Abbie's teasing grin softened for a moment as she heard her lover's voice in the next room. "She's got me on a short leash," she admitted, although her expression clearly showed that she didn't mind it at all. The other four women waited patiently for the explicit sexual joke that was sure to follow, and when it didn't come, they all stared at her in astonishment. "What? Get your minds out of the gutter. Not everything I say has to be dirty. I think the four of you are just perverts."

That had all five of them laughing.

"Pot? The kettle called. Said something about you being black," said Alex.

Abbie just winked and headed for the kitchen. "Break out the cards and the tequila, ladies. It's poker night!"

...

"Oh! Oh! Do me! Do me!" Casey shouted, her voice amplified by the amount of alcohol in her system. She blushed when she realized exactly how that sounded, and everyone shared a laugh at her expense. "It was my Statler and Waldorf comment that started this game anyway," she muttered, trying to cover up her embarrassing faux pas.

Abbie rolled her eyes. "And she thinks I'm the perverted one. Fine, fine. All right, ladies, which muppet would Novak be?"

There was a brief pause as they all pondered the question, trying to come up with a suitable muppet. "Animal?" Olivia suggested, gesturing at Casey's red hair. At least, it was red for the moment. The attorney had been known to change her hair color on occasion.

Casey shot her a glare. "Animal? Come on, my closing arguments were better than 'mnah mnah'."

"At least you weren't Miss Piggy," Alex muttered darkly. All five of the others had adamantly agreed that the blonde pig was her perfect match. "Hit me."

Abbie slid another card over to the grumpy attorney, snatching her hand back quickly. When Alex stared at her, she explained herself with a casual, "didn't want you to bite it off."

Olivia sighed. The Detective had been a tie for Kermit and Sam the Eagle, neither of which she really resembled, but she wasn't complaining. "For the last time, Alex, we weren't calling you fat. We were just saying that-"

"Don't dig yourself in any deeper, Benson, or she might cut you off tonight," Connie said, trying to waggle her eyebrows and somehow lacking the coordination.

Olivia saw through the ruse, however, and punched her on the arm. "Why don't _you_ stop pretending to be drunk, you card shark? You can't fool me. You've only had one and the rest of us are well on our way to happy land."

"Hit me," Serena said, studying the cards in her hand with a slightly irritated expression. Unlike Alex, who had a stone cold poker face, and Connie, who hid everything behind a façade of charming drunkenness, Serena was not very good at concealing her emotions while playing. If it wasn't for her numerous tells, she would have been a much better player. Her strategy, at least, was good, unlike Abbie, who had none and occasionally forgot the order of her cards.

"Okay, ladies, match it or fold. Do you know that the Honorable members of Manhattan's female judiciary also have a standing poker night date?" Alex asked, making all of them laugh. "Olivia, sweetie, your turn. Pay attention."

"I fold," she said, tossing her cards on the table. "And I don't want to think about what Petrovsky or Donnelly talk about on their poker nights. If it's anything like the stuff that comes out of Carmichael's dirty mouth, I'd be scarred for life."

Serena grinned, pushing several chips forward. "Okay, I'll take your bet, Cabot. Also, Abbie doesn't talk dirty-"

"Serena!"

"-in bed."

"Serena..."

"-unless I make her."

"I call bullshit, Serena, and I'll raise you, Alex," Connie said, adding her chips to the pile.

Serena grinned. "What, you don't believe me? I'll match you."

"Too steep for me," Casey said, peeking over at Serena's hand even though the round wasn't finished.

The remaining competitors decided to reveal their cards, resulting in three cries of disappointment from Abbie, Serena, and Alex as Connie took the hand with a full house, kings high.

"Dammit," Alex said, scowling down at her own full house, which had a pair of queens and three tens. "Losing is even worse when you're close enough to taste victory."

"Well, now you can taste poverty as I take all of your money, Cabot."

"I am never going to Vegas with her. _Ever._" Olivia whispered, making Casey laugh.

...

"What's the worst case you've ever worked?"

If the question had come from anyone but Alex, the others would probably have brushed it off. Perhaps Abbie would have offered a story about some slimy politician in DC, or perhaps Connie would have amused them with one of the 'lost in translation' stories that she was often privy to because of her Hispanic heritage, but coming from Alex, the question couldn't be ignored.

Olivia looked at her girlfriend and slowly pushed her glass over towards Alex, which the blonde finished in one long pull, despite the fact that it was beer and not to her taste. The detective knew from experience that Alex reached a melancholy 'middle' period while drinking that would only pass if she either drank more or waited to sober up. Although a little alcohol made her flirty, and a lot made her downright hilarious, a medium amount often drew out her darker thoughts.

"It's a toss up," Casey finally said, breaking the silence. "The case that got me disbarred was pretty bad, the one with the dirty cop that raped two fourteen year old girls..." The game had completely stopped now, and all eyes were on her. Slowly, she placed her cards face down on the table. "But I don't know... there was a mentally ill man that recreated the rape of his eleven year old sister because he was psychotic. That one really got to me."

"Mine's a toss-up, too," Alex admitted in a soft voice. "You all know how I felt about Sam's attempt at suicide..." she choked slightly over the word, which surprised Connie, who had never seen the blonde display so much emotion before. She looked over at Casey, asking the question with her eyes.

"Didn't want to testify to his abuse," she offered quietly.

"Cheryl Avery was a close second. I'll never forget watching her being wheeled in to the emergency room, covered in dried blood and bruises... or the expression on Sam's mother's face. God, she hated me, and I don't blame her. I hated myself."

There was another respectful pause.

"My moment of glory happened in court," Abbie said, adding her own story. "I was cross examining a woman who killed the corrections officer that raped her. She had a past with drugs and I wanted her locked up for the max." She sighed. "I was going at her pretty hard, when she suddenly comes out and says the rape was her fault. My brain just... stopped. All these old feelings of self-hatred came back. I offered her a plea."

Under the table, Serena took her lover's hand and squeezed, rubbing a comforting thumb over her knuckles. "The case that bothers me the most isn't about the victims," Serena said, surprising all of them. "Trust me. I've seen the same horrible things as you guys, things that keep me up at night. Dead kids, broken women, grieving parents... but the only thing that _might_ disgust me more than a perp is someone manipulating that tragedy for their own ends with no regard for the loss." They waited for her to explain. "A defense attorney tried to use racism as a justification for a cop shooting. She spat in the face of law enforcement and made a mockery of decades of civil rights work."

Abbie looked shocked for a moment and tightened her grip on Serena's hand. "You've always sympathized with victims of racism and homophobia," she whispered, taking another drink with her free hand. "You're their champion."

"That's sweet of you to say. Maybe that's why that case bothered me. Someone using my sympathies and turning them into a defense for the scum of the earth."

Connie sighed. "The kids always get to me the worst. Maybe because I want to be a mother someday..." The others waited patiently for her to tell her story. Although Alex's face showed the most emotion, an unusual circumstance, especially at the poker table, all of them were affected by the stories being shared. "Mine happened in the courtroom, too. I was questioning a nurse on the stand about an abortion doctor's medical procedures... I wanted to vomit. I hate the entire pro-life, pro-choice debate, it makes my skin crawl, but what the doctor did wasn't even legal under Roe v. Wade."

As a unit the other five women turned to look at Olivia.

The brunette detective took a deep breath. "I've seen a lot of cases. The dead bodies of children stuffed in trash bags... one parent protecting the other and leaving kids in a cycle of abuse... women refusing to come forward and testify against their rapists because of shame." For a moment, Abbie flinched, but the others were staring at Olivia, and only Serena felt her lover's brief shiver. "But the worst..." she turned to Alex. "The Velez case was my worst. Seeing you bleed out on that sidewalk is what all my nightmares are made of."

Not caring that there were four other women at the table observing them, Alex fell into Olivia's arms, clinging to her in an uncharacteristic display of emotion and love. She had no idea whether she was trying to comfort Olivia or ease her own painful memories. As her lover's familiar scent washed over her, she buried her face in Olivia's neck, sighing as warm arms pulled her closer.

Emotionally exhausted, Abbie allowed Serena to embrace her as well, closing her eyes and forgetting all the events of her past, all the things that made her Abbie Carmichael, federal prosecutor, and simply remembering herself as Abbie. Even Casey and Connie hugged, despite the fact that they weren't a couple, overcome by the raw emotions hanging over the table and the need for touch, physical comfort, anything.

It was a long time before any more words were spoken.

Finally, Abbie cracked one eye open, her cheek resting on Serena's blonde head. "Get a room, you two," she said to Connie and Casey. Casey pulled away as though she had been burned, but Connie just laughed.

"I guess they know our secret, Darling," she said, trailing a seductive finger down Casey's arm. The redhead batted her hand away.

"I wouldn't sleep with you if you were the last woman on earth, Rubirosa. I'd probably do Olivia."

"Hey!" Alex complained, her voice muffled by Olivia's shirt. "Hands off, Novak. Besides, you're too butch for each other."

Olivia held her hands up in mock defense. "Hey, hey, I'm not getting involved in this one... you two can fight it out while I get the rooms and sofa bed set up. I think our poker game is done anyway."


	2. Bridge

...

**Bridge:**

...

"Oops, it looks like I did have that suit after all. Sorry." With a smirk, Alex removed her low diamond. Now that she knew where the queen of spades was, she would easily be able to make her contract. Reluctantly, a sour-faced Elliot took back his queen.

Realizing what had just happened, Olivia looked delighted. "An Alcatraz coup!* You bitch."

Instead of being offended, Alex grinned across the table at Olivia as she replaced her illegal card with a trump, looking innocently at Elliot out of the corner of her eye. She nudged him under the table with the heel of her shoe, causing him to frown at her.

"Ow! Hey, Liv is the one who called you a bitch, not me, I was just thinking it."

"I'm not surprised you used an illegal coup," Olivia continued, returning Alex's grin. "You play dirty. Behind those glasses of justice, you enjoy twisting the laws to your own ends."

Normally, that sort of comment would have earned Olivia night on the couch, but after making a sort-of illegal play during their monthly game of bridge with the Stablers, she supposed that she deserved it.

"Bah humbug. Report me to the ACBL*, why don't you? It's just a card game."

"A card game that you're winning," Kathy Stabler reminded her. She glanced across the table at her husband, who sighed as Alex took the next several tricks. "Four spades," she conceded, "you made game."

Alex gazed down the bridge of her nose at all three of them with a rather superior expression on her face. "I believe that's one hundred and twenty points for us," she said, writing the number in above the line, since she was also keeping score. That put O/A squarely in the lead over E/K. She did not feel too bad, since the Stablers had defeated them handily last time. Perhaps it was because they had been married for so long, despite their problems, but both of them knew how to read each other.

"Do you ever think about getting married?" she asked Olivia out of the blue, sorting through her new hand and organizing them by suit. "Two diamonds."

Olivia's mouth opened and closed like a surprised guppy, staring at Alex as though she had just asked whether the moon was made of cheese. "Um... I – wait, what?"

"Two hearts," Elliot said, trying to give his partner a chance to recover.

"Pass?" Olivia asked hopefully, still completely bewildered by Alex's question.

Kathy, however, refused to bid, and Alex continued looking at her expectantly. "Oh, calm down, Olivia. I didn't ask whether you wanted to get married," she said, her voice tinged with a hint of exasperation. "I asked if you ever thought about it."

"Yes?" The word came out as a question instead of a solid answer, but Alex rewarded her lover with a smile.

"Good, three diamonds."

"Hey, Miss Romantic, you skipped my bid while you were busy giving Olivia a heart attack, and _I_ want to bid three hearts."

"I thought it only took two hearts and one diamond," Elliot said, looking pleased with himself for the clever joke.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "El, you are terrible. I don't know how Kathy puts up with you."

"He's a good bridge player," Kathy quipped.

"_Fine,_ then. Four diamonds." The other three players looked at Alex with a strange expression at the very unusual bid. "What?" she said defensively. "I have a lot of diamonds!"

"Isn't that the truth," Olivia muttered.

...

"So, what was that all about?" Olivia asked quietly as she climbed into the passenger's seat of Alex's car.

Alex gave Olivia her best innocent look, which would have been much more effective on someone who did not know her so intimately. "What was what all about?"

"Did you just propose to me across the bridge table in front of my partner and his wife?"

Turning the key in the ignition and sliding smoothly out of the driveway, Alex pondered the question for a moment. "No," she said finally. "I was making my bid."

"Making your bid?"

"Do you have something to say, or are you just going to keep asking questions?" Alex asked, not unpleasantly.

The detective could not resist a cheeky answer. "Maybe?" Before Alex could do it, Olivia adjusted the rear view mirror for her, knowing from experience where the blonde liked to keep it. She had driven on the way down to Queens, and had tilted the mirror accordingly. "Okay, I give. Explain what you meant by making your bid, please."

"Bridge is a metaphor for life," Alex said. "I made my bid, and now I'm passing it around the table to you so you can raise it."

Suddenly, Olivia got it. "Are you proposing that I propose? Alexandra Cabot, not only are you being extremely unromantic and bossy tonight, but you are also such a... such a _girl_."

Alex smiled, tapping the break to glide to a stop at a red light. It was late in the evening, but the traffic in the city that never sleeps was still fairly substantial. "I have no intentions of being bossy, I assure you. I just know that you are too chicken to propose to me unless you know I'll say yes. Which I will. Say yes, I mean. So that gives you a couple of months to get your act together, Benson."

Brown eyes grew very large. Olivia had no idea whether to be surprised, irritated, or overjoyed. Eventually, her heart decided on joyful and she leaned across to the driver's side of the car to give Alex a long, deep kiss that had the drivers behind them honking.

At the same time, both of them rolled down their windows and stuck out their middle fingers as Alex hit the accelerator, rolling through the now green light. "Do you think they were honking at us, or were they honking because we were holding up traffic?"

"Yes," said Olivia. Both of them started laughing. The happy sound carried out of the lowered windows and was lost in the busy street. "So, are we engaged now?"

"Certainly not," Alex said. "I expect a very lavish proposal with a string quartet, a champagne fountain, and a rock the size of New Jersey."

Olivia squeezed Alex's knee, smiling as she felt the warmth of the blonde attorney's bare skin beneath the hem of her skirt. "Then what are we?"

"We're engaged to be engaged."

Olivia snorted. "Engaged to be engaged? Is that something you just made up?"

"Does it matter?"

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Olivia thought she could hear music rising over the sounds of New York, floating somewhere in the distance. "No, it doesn't."

* * *

* An illegal move in bridge where a player puts down a card of the incorrect suit in order to finesse which of the defending players has a particular card.

* ACBL American Contract Bridge League


	3. Five Card Draw

...

**Five Card Draw:**

...

"All right, blondie, show me your hand," Olivia said triumphantly, tapping the corner of her cards with her index finger. Her attention, however, was focused on her opponent, who had lost her sweater during the last round, leaving the soft, milky skin of her sides, arms, and stomach on enticing display.

"I have no idea how you talked me in to this," Alex mumbled, trying not to look at Olivia over top of her cards. "Most people just curl up by the fire with some hot chocolate and watch a movie on snowy winter nights..."

Olivia just grinned. "Well, we _are_ by the fire, I can make hot chocolate if you really want it, and I have to keep you interested in me somehow..." She just knew that the five cards in her hand were her ticket to victory, and she had her eyes (literally) on the counselor's black, lacy bra.

Noticing where the detective's gaze was fastened, Alex subtly arched her spine, pushing her breasts forward ever so slightly. _Oh well, might as well give her a good view. She doesn't have much of a chance..._

Certain of her victory, the proud brunette tossed her cards onto the carpet. "Three eights. Stop stalling and show 'em," Olivia said, not sure whether she was referring to the cards or the gorgeous breasts encased in lingerie.

Biting on her inner cheek to keep from smiling, Alex laid down her hand, revealing four Aces and looking extremely pleased with herself. Surprised brown eyes grew very wide, eventually narrowed in disappointment as Olivia realized that the bra wasn't going to be removed. "Are you cheating?" she asked, more than a little irritated at the smug expression on her fiancée's face. "Come on, this is just five card draw! No one ever gets four of a kind in five card draw, especially not Aces..."

"Me?" Alex's own eyes widened in mock surprise. "Darling, I don't need to cheat. I'm just naturally talented at everything."

"Yeah, yeah, brag about it, why don't you? What do you want?"

The confident, smug expression that so annoyed Olivia returned as Alex's eyes swept over her, considering her choice. "Pants," she said, gesturing at Olivia's jeans, "and I get to take them off you..." Before the hungry looking blonde lawyer could crawl over and distract both of them, Olivia scooted back, uncrossing her legs.

"Nonono... I'm taking them off, because if I let you touch me, this game is going to end prematurely."

Alex pretended to pout, but she was having fun, and so she decided to let Olivia have her way. "Fine." She waved a hand and reclined on her side, resting her chin in her hand and gazing at Olivia with a very superior look. "You may proceed."

"What am I, your concubine?" Olivia muttered, unbuttoning her jeans and shimmying out of them. She felt a small shiver shoot down her spine and a warm tug between her thighs when she noticed Alex's eyes greedily absorbing each inch of olive-toned leg as it was revealed. Kicking the jeans aside, Olivia sat back down and wiggled her toes, glad that she still had her socks on, at least. Her feet got cold easily.

Trying very hard not to look too interested in the newly exposed skin, Alex shuffled the deck and re-dealt. Casually, she scooped up her cards and began to smile. Olivia rolled her eyes, not sure if the counselor was playing her. She examined her own hand – two threes – and smiled for a completely different reason. She had a feeling that Alex was going to win this poker game, but never let it be said that Olivia Benson couldn't lose with style.

"Hey, babe, want to up the ante?"

Blonde eyebrows rose higher on Alex's forehead, clearly showing interest. "Oh?"

"I'll bet you two pieces of clothing instead of just one that I win this hand."

Alex only needed to think about it for a moment. "You're on. Hit me."

"You're the dealer."

"Details..." With an exaggerated sigh, Alex dealt herself a card from the top of the deck, pleased to see that she had just drawn a second nine. Her hand was pretty poor, and a double was the best she could do. "Here's yours," she said, sliding Olivia a card over the carpet, not releasing it until their fingertips brushed. Olivia's thumb did a quick wrap-around to stroke the inside of Alex's palm, but eventually, she picked up her card. It was a third three. Without thinking twice, Olivia discarded it, making sure to keep it face down and keeping her five original cards.

"Okay, whatcha got?"

Alex, regretting her decision to take Olivia's bet, reluctantly showed her pair of nines. Olivia, however, looked surprisingly happy when she revealed a pair of threes. This time, there was no temper tantrum or grumbling. Instead, she took off both socks and tossed them at Alex, who batted them away with her hand. "You dork," she said, "how did I know you were going to do that?"

Olivia let her tongue trace the curve of her lower lip, throwing Alex a searing glance. "I like to draw out the suspense."

"Seductive looks don't work after you've just thrown your socks at me," Alex quipped, but both of them knew that she was lying. The heated look had produced a very visible reaction through the thin fabric of Alex's bra. One last peek at the hardened tips of her lover's breasts only solidified Olivia's determination to end the game quickly.

While Olivia shuffled and dealt the cards, Alex began counting articles of clothing, trying to see how much of an advantage she had. Now that Olivia's socks were gone, her lower half was entirely bare except for a pair of Christmas themed boyshorts (if a stitched picture of mistletoe on the front didn't scream 'eat me', Alex didn't know what would). Alex took a moment to admire the way they clung to the detective's hips before letting her eyes travel up. From what she could tell, Olivia had on a button-up, an undershirt, and probably a bra. That was four more hands she needed to win...

"Alex?"

Startled, the blonde let her eyes complete the upward journey and focus on Olivia's face. "What?"

"Your cards."

"I was enjoying the view..."

Olivia winked. "I'll bet you were." She nudged Alex's cards closer, knowing that her lover would definitely win this round with the two kings she had slipped into her hand while she was distracted. A minute later, a wide-eyed Alex was watching two sets of clever fingers slowly, oh-so-slowly undo the buttons of Olivia's outer shirt, taking their sweet time as each circle slipped expertly through the loop. Lost in a daze as she began to imagine other things those talented fingers could do, Alex tipped the frames of her glasses to change the angle, not wanting to miss a second of the show. Enjoying the attention, Olivia peeled the unbuttoned shirt over her shoulders, letting it fall behind her as she slid two tanned arms out of the sleeves. The white undershirt gave Alex a much clearer view, and Olivia smiled when the attorney was unable to swallow back her appreciative gasp.

"Your turn," Olivia whispered, her voice dropping into a low, purring octave that made Alex's body hum. Alex began reaching for the clasp of her bra when she realized that Olivia was referring to the game. Ignoring the slight pink flush that crept across her cheeks, she picked up the deck with shaking hands and began to deal. As much as she wanted Olivia – _Oh God, do I want her, _she thought as her eyes flicked downwards to the stitched mistletoe – her pride would not allow her to end the game while she was winning. She still had her jeans, panties, bra, and both socks, and if she counted her glasses, that was six items to Olivia's three.

This time, despite Olivia's best intentions, she won the next hand with a flush. Five Card Draw was not the easiest game to cheat at, especially when she was not dealing. She was even more disappointed when Alex chose to remove one of her socks (although she decided not to throw it at Olivia's head, for which she was grateful).

Olivia lost the next round, breaking a straight with a strategic discard while Alex flipped her cards to reveal a full house. "What do you want to take off?" Olivia asked, gazing at her lover through half-lidded eyes. Alex pressed her lips together tightly, ignoring the pleasurable twitch of warm, aching inner muscles. Not bothering to answer, she shifted until she was on her knees and pushed the cards aside, straddling Olivia's hips and trailing her palms along the detective's bare shoulders.

A hot mouth descended on Olivia's collarbone, sucking lightly at a tender patch of skin beside her pulse point before nipping the soft place where her shoulder curved to meet the column of her throat. Alex's fingers looped through the straps of Olivia's undershirt, pulling it down and –_ Oh God, she isn't wearing a bra after all..._

The blonde lost all of her restraint and took Olivia's lips in a hard kiss, her hands climbing up over the detective's stomach and cupping bare breasts. But soon, the dazed lawyer found herself flat on her back, wrists pinned above her head as she stared up at Olivia with glazed eyes. "Why did you stop me?" she asked, a note of pleading in her voice as she arched her hips upwards, pressing them against Olivia's underwear. She gasped, and for a moment, Alex thought the brunette would see things her way, but Olivia had other plans. Slowly, she separated their bodies, holding her wrists until she was sure that Alex wouldn't try to reach for her again.

"You have to win one more hand, lover," she said, emphasizing the statement with a single kiss to the incredibly soft skin just behind Alex's ear. "Then, you can have whatever you want." Alex's hands began to caress her hips, slipping just under the elastic waistband, Olivia gently removed them, pressing several quick kisses to the dazed attorney's pink lips. "One more hand."

"Winner takes all?" Alex asked, hurrying to unzip her jeans and kicking them to a corner of the room. Olivia did nothing to stop her as she reached around to undo the clasp of her bra, letting it drop on the floor between them. Deciding to be helpful, Olivia removed the attorney's remaining sock, taking the opportunity to slide a teasing hand along her inner thigh. Alex rested her weight on the heel of her hands, sighing as Olivia's knuckles grazed the obvious wet patch on her black bikini cut panties.

The sight was just too perfect to resist, and Olivia used every ounce of self-restraint in her body to relax her tightening muscles and pull her hand away. _Oh Lord, when she looks at me like that, her body begging to be touched..._ Somehow, she managed to deal each of them five cards, forgetting to shuffle the deck, but neither of them cared.

Taking short, uneven breaths, Alex managed to calm herself down long enough to pick up her hand. Her heart beat faster when she noticed three queens staring back at her. Oh yes, Olivia was going to pay... Not even bothering to draw her sixth card, Alex tipped her hand and revealed the three queens, giving Olivia another long, slow kiss as her fingers slipped beneath her detective's boyshorts, the outline of her hand pressing out against the mistletoe as she stroked Olivia's wetness. With a hiss of pleasure, Olivia gripped Alex's wrist again, forcing the wandering hand to stop its insistent stroking. It was hard, oh god it was hard, but she managed to remove her hurt-looking lover's fingers and reach for her own hand. "Oh no, not yet, Miss Queen of Hearts, I haven't shown you mine."

"Then take off your underwear and show me," Alex shot back, trying once again to remove them. Olivia stopped her. Displaying the cards in a fan, she revealed the fourth queen, tucked neatly in between an ace, king, jack, and ten of hearts. The blonde's mouth nearly hit the floor. "You – you... you cheated!"

Olivia didn't deny it. Instead, she dropped the cards into a pile on the floor. "We'll play fifty-two card pickup later... but for now, hand over your panties."

"Bite me."

And Olivia did. First, she nibbled teasingly around the attorney's lips, lips that strained to kiss hers, but were not quite able to find Olivia's mouth. Then, she placed a pretty purple mark somewhere along the line of Alex's shoulder, trailing warm nips along her upper chest before finally, finally taking the straining peak of her lover's breast in her mouth. Distracted, Alex hardly noticed when Olivia pulled her underwear down over her hips and past her knees, only clutching her prize for a moment before her hand reached back between Alex's legs to find the rest of her reward.

"Olivi-AAH..." The detective's name turned into a started cry of pleasure as Olivia's fingers smoothly penetrated her. Pausing briefly to kiss the fluttering muscles of Alex's abdomen, Olivia began a slow, torturous rocking motion as a warm mouth trailed downwards to join her hand. _Oh yes,_ was Alex's last conscious thought before Olivia's lips wrapped around her, tracing the tip of her tongue in circles, _this is definitely my favorite card game._


End file.
